Japan steps up inspection of Chinese feed
Japan has stepped up inspection of Chinese-made animal feed and pet food that may be laced with a chemical that has caused a global food scare with tainted milk, agriculture officials said Monday.
The Agriculture Ministry Monday ordered the country’s farm cooperatives and
other industrial groups to tighten inspection of feed and pet food imported from
China to make sure they don’t contain melamine, the industrial chemical that has
sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children, ministry official Satoshi
Motomura said.
He said the ministry issued the order after Beijing
last week said several Chinese feed makers allegedly mixed melamine into their
products used for dairy cows. Animals fed with melamine-laced feed could
develop kidney stones and other health problems as in the Chinese babies who
have gotten sick.
Motomura added, however, that the amount of
Japan’s feed imports from China is small, and the ministry has so far received
no reports of melamine contamination.
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